Hello Fintech Friends,

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below. (👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know!)

Raising debt capital is a crucial requirement for card, lending, and neobank startups, but most fintech operators don’t come from a capital markets background. That’s why Finley and Cross River Bank put together this comprehensive guide to raising debt capital. It outlines the people, processes, and partners you need to assemble to execute a debt capital raise. Download your free copy here.

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📖 Reads of the Week

Only Up From Here: 2024’s State of Fintech and the Hero’s Journey

We’re at the scary part of “the hero’s journey” in fintech, with a bottom for funding and a BaaS crisis, but we’re about to enter a new, exciting stage.

Bain Capital Ventures | Venture forth, courageouslyRichard Feloni

Coinbase’s quest to stay profitable throughout cycles

When Coinbase went public, Brian Armstrong floated an idea that in 5-10 years half of the company’s revenue would come from non-trading fees. The goal was to stay profitable in the next crypto winter.

Popular FintechJevgenijs Kazanins

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

• Lineage, a real estate investment trust for temperature-controlled warehouses, will raise up to $3.5 billion in its IPO.
  

🤝 M&A - Fintech

• Buy-now-pay-later provider Klarna will sell off its point of sale checkout business for $520 million to avoid conflicts with payment facilitator integration partners like Stripe and Adyen.
• American Express will acquire restaurant reservation platform Tock from Squarespace for $400 million.
• US neobank Chime will acquire earned wage access provider Salt Labs for $14 million in cash, with additional consideration of up to $159 million.
• UK small business lending platform Funding Circle* sold off its US business to lender iBusiness Funding.
• Brazil's NuBank acquired bank-focused AI developer Hyperplane.
• French bank Société Générale is selling off its incubated freelancer-focused neobank Shine to Ageras, a Danish fintech consolidator.
• Japanese crypto exchange BitFlyer is reportedly trying to acquire FTX Japan.
• Chinese fintech giant Ant Group is likely to sell its stake in China’s first personal credit reporting company to Tencent.
• Private equity firm GrowthCurve acquired Duetto, a provider of revenue management software for the hospitality industry.

Bank M&A deals substantially bigger in 2024

There were 27 bank acquisitions worth $5.45 billion announced in the second quarter as of mid-June. That was more than the $5.2 billion combined value of deals announced over the previous five quarters.

American BankerJim Dobbs

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ

• American card issuer Discover sold off its $10 billion student loan portfolio to private equity firms Carlyle and KKR ahead of its planned acquisition by Capital One.
• British investment trusts Alliance and Witan will merge to create a company managing £5 billion.
• Australian bank ANZ received regulatory approval to acquire rival Suncorp Bank for $3.3 billion.

Raising debt capital is a crucial requirement for card, lending, and neobank startups, but most fintech operators don’t come from a capital markets background. That’s why Finley and Cross River Bank put together this comprehensive guide to raising debt capital. It outlines the people, processes, and partners you need to assemble to execute a debt capital raise. Download your free copy here.

Want to sponsor a newsletter? See our sponsorship information here.

🌎 Fintech Around the World

The Fintech Mexico Association is preparing a comprehensive proposal for new regulatory bill

Colombia’s Simetrik wants to transform Brazil into its biggest market

European Commission opens consultation on AI in finance

📚 Deeper Reads & Features

Evolve Hack Crisis: Russia-Linked Cybergang Leaks Records On Millions

Rates didn't save banks, they unleashed Fintech

Death, Taxes, and AI: How Generative AI Will Change Accounting

This banking fintech for older Americans is launching a new feature to fight AI fraud

Global Fintech 2024: Prudence, profits and growth

‘Phantom debt’ is flying under the radar — and it could be a problem for the U.S. economy

The AI-Fintech connection: Transforming the financial ecosystem

Hedge Funds Made a Killing on FTX—Then It Got Complicated

Kangaroos run loose in Texas, baffling local residents: ‘Ma’am, I don’t know who I need to call’

Have a news item for us? Reach out to news@thisweekinfintech.com